All posts tagged Quetta

Deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Balochistan, the Human Rights Commission organised a fact-finding mission to the province between 4 & 7 May. The teams visited Khuzdar, Turbat and Quetta, meeting a wide cross-section of people, including government representatives.

At the outset, HRCP would like to express its deep anger and sadness at the killing of two of its activists, Siddique Eido and Naeem Sabir. Siddique Eido went missing in December 2010; his body was recovered from Ormara on 28 April. HRCP had thrice brought the case of his disappearance to the authorities’ attention. Naeem Sabir was shot dead in Khuzdar in March this year.

The key findings of the HRCP mission are:

1. Enforced disappearances continue to be a matter of great concern. The Commission set up to investigate the case of missing persons has been largely ineffective, leading to people’s frustration

2. It has been noted that dead bodies recovered have had signs of extreme torture. 33 bodies have been found in Khuzdar; at a rate of 1 body every 3 days

3. All authority seems to vest with the security forces. The civil administration, elected by the people and meant to represent them, appears to have ceded its powers

4. There is strong evidence of the complicity of security forces in killings which are found to be deliberate. One specific instance: on 1 Dec, 2010, in Kech, the FC started attacking a house at 4 a.m. & continued the attack till 2 p.m the next day, despite the civil administration’s request to the FC Colonel that the family members were willing to get all those present in the house to surrender. They killed 5 members of the family, including a boy. This represents a case of deliberate extra-judicial killings. In some cases, FIRs were registered in Turbat. The FC local commander in Kech agreed to talk only after permission was received from IG FC which was not ultimately received.

5. There was widespread complaint against the attitude of the FC personnel at checkpoints

6. The sectarian attack of 6 May in Quetta is highly condemnable. It happened while the HRCP Mission was present in the city. Six people died and many were injured in spite of the presence of the police nearby and the FC check posts. It is regrettable that findings of inquiry commissions into sectarian killings have not been released. No effort has been made at reconciliation of the communities, either

7. Members of the minority communities narrated the heightened sense of insecurity they are living in. There have been targeted killings, as well as kidnappings for ransom. In some cases, victims were killed in spite of ransom being paid. In some instances, children have been taken out of school.

8. There is migration of some communities, including Hindus, Hazara/Shias, who are being targeted

9. Targeted killings are rampant – these include professionals such as teachers & doctors, as well as traders

While a detailed report will be issued later by HRCP, the following are some main recommendations:

» · The system of enforced disappearances must end; it is a total negation of rule of law that mutilated bodies are found of missing people – instead of their production before courts of law
» · Any operation conducted by law enforcement agencies must be within the framework of rule of law, and under civilian oversight. The provincial government must meet its obligation of ensuring law & order
» · The Frontier Corps should act only in aid of the civilian forces & under civilian control. There should be an immediate end to the complete impunity from the process of law the FC currently enjoys in Balochistan
» · The provincial government, representing all political parties of the province, needs to assert its authority and act in the interest of the people that brought it to power
» · The higher judiciary must instruct the subordinate judiciary to actively pursue cases of human rights violations
» · The police must exercise its responsibility of recording FIRs & actively investigating cases of enforced disappearances, targeted killings and discovery of mutilated bodies, as well as of kidnappings
» · Places of worship of minorities must be protected and freedom of worship be ensured. Members of minority communities should be assured of their safety
» · It should be noted that internal security can never be guaranteed by violation of rights
» · Victims of violence must be compensated immediately
» · The government must ensure protection of all teaching staff and that educational institutions function properly in a peaceful manner, meeting a wide cross-section of people, including government representatives.

At the outset, HRCP would like to express its deep anger and sadness at the killing of two of its activists, Siddique Eido and Naeem Sabir. Siddique Eido went missing in December 2010; his body was recovered from Ormara on 28 April. HRCP had thrice brought the case of his disappearance to the authorities’ attention. Naeem Sabir was shot dead in Khuzdar in March this year.

The key findings of the HRCP mission are:

1. Enforced disappearances continue to be a matter of great concern. The Commission set up to investigate the case of missing persons has been largely ineffective, leading to people’s frustration

2. It has been noted that dead bodies recovered have had signs of extreme torture. 33 bodies have been found in Khuzdar; at a rate of 1 body every 3 days

3. All authority seems to vest with the security forces. The civil administration, elected by the people and meant to represent them, appears to have ceded its powers

4. There is strong evidence of the complicity of security forces in killings which are found to be deliberate. One specific instance: on 1 Dec, 2010, in Kech, the FC started attacking a house at 4 a.m. & continued the attack till 2 p.m the next day, despite the civil administration’s request to the FC Colonel that the family members were willing to get all those present in the house to surrender. They killed 5 members of the family, including a boy. This represents a case of deliberate extra-judicial killings. In some cases, FIRs were registered in Turbat. The FC local commander in Kech agreed to talk only after permission was received from IG FC which was not ultimately received.

5. There was widespread complaint against the attitude of the FC personnel at checkpoints

6. The sectarian attack of 6 May in Quetta is highly condemnable. It happened while the HRCP Mission was present in the city. Six people died and many were injured in spite of the presence of the police nearby and the FC check posts. It is regrettable that findings of inquiry commissions into sectarian killings have not been released. No effort has been made at reconciliation of the communities, either

7. Members of the minority communities narrated the heightened sense of insecurity they are living in. There have been targeted killings, as well as kidnappings for ransom. In some cases, victims were killed in spite of ransom being paid. In some instances, children have been taken out of school.

8. There is migration of some communities, including Hindus, Hazara/Shias, who are being targeted

9. Targeted killings are rampant – these include professionals such as teachers & doctors, as well as traders

While a detailed report will be issued later by HRCP, the following are some main recommendations:

» · The system of enforced disappearances must end; it is a total negation of rule of law that mutilated bodies are found of missing people – instead of their production before courts of law
» · Any operation conducted by law enforcement agencies must be within the framework of rule of law, and under civilian oversight. The provincial government must meet its obligation of ensuring law & order
» · The Frontier Corps should act only in aid of the civilian forces & under civilian control. There should be an immediate end to the complete impunity from the process of law the FC currently enjoys in Balochistan
» · The provincial government, representing all political parties of the province, needs to assert its authority and act in the interest of the people that brought it to power
» · The higher judiciary must instruct the subordinate judiciary to actively pursue cases of human rights violations
» · The police must exercise its responsibility of recording FIRs & actively investigating cases of enforced disappearances, targeted killings and discovery of mutilated bodies, as well as of kidnappings
» · Places of worship of minorities must be protected and freedom of worship be ensured. Members of minority communities should be assured of their safety
» · It should be noted that internal security can never be guaranteed by violation of rights
» · Victims of violence must be compensated immediately
» · The government must ensure protection of all teaching staff and that educational institutions function properly in a peaceful manner

QUETTA: Over 5,000 ghost teachers have been drawing salaries from the Government of Balochistan while total 11,000 schools including primary, middle and high levels are functioning in the province, of them 3,000 are ghost schools.

This was disclosed in ‘Media and Civil Society Collaboration Workshop’
organized by non-governmental organization Pakistan Coalition for Education at a local hotel here on Friday. A large number of representatives of various media organizations including print and electronic media attended the workshop.

Participating in the discussion on current situation related to education
in Balochistan, Quetta Bureau Chief Dawn News, Syed Ali Shah said he called on a high-profile official in the Education Department who told him that over 5,000 ghost teachers and 3,000 ghost schools were getting salaries and funds from the Government of Balochistan respectively.

He said hardly one percent funds were incurred for development projects in Education sector. Giving example, he said over 7,000 registered religious seminaries were functioning in the province while a large number of government schools were functioning only in paper record after getting government funds.

Kalimullah of daily Bakhabar claimed there 10,000 ghost teachers were
drawing salaries in the province. He said a large number of functional
teachers avoided to go to their schools to impart education and only drew salaries. He alleged that most of government teachers in Balochistan worked for political parties as political workers.

Yasmin Lehri said most of ghost teachers hailed from political and tribal
leaders of the province and salaries of such teachers went to those
families.

Balochistan Bureau Chief of English daily Dawn Saleem Shahid emphasized the need to eliminate political interference in appointment of teachers and educational institutions’ matters. He said lawlessness and target killing of teachers had badly damaged process of imparting education in Balochistan. He, however, lamented that leading media of the country did not give a sustainable space and coverage to social issues pertaining to Balochistan adding such trend did not help in removing sense of deprivation among Baloch youths.

Shehzada Zulfiqar of daily Pakistan Today viewed that declaring mother
tongue as total medium of instructions in education would cut off our new generation from the rest of the world. He said media organizations had lacked of manpower which had caused less coverage of social issues including education and health.

Eisa Tareen of INP news agency said teachers’ unions sent threat to media persons whenever they highlighted issue of ghost teachers and teachers’ negligence in attending their schools for imparting education.

Musa Farman of daily Khabrain said no imparting education could be made better until law and order situation was improved in Balochistan. He said teachers avoided to go to many districts due to security reasons.

News Editor of Balochistan Times, Mr. Suleman stressed the need to
eliminate cheating in examinations. He linked promotion of quality education with the development of the province.

Sabir Awan of daily Jang said private educational institutions paid very
meager salary to their teachers.

Ashiq Butt of NNI underlined the need to recruit teachers on permanent
basis and not on daily wages.

Muhammad Khalid of AAJ Tv said Government Printing Press did not print
text books timely.

Akbar Sheikh of Associated Press of Pakistan suggested that no teacher
should be appointed in a district who had domicile or local certificate of
other district. He urged NGOs to own government schools in dilapidated
condition by constructing wash rooms there and providing science laboratory equipments and furniture to them.

National Coordinator PCE Zehra Arshad emphasized the need to share
information on education’s condition in Balochistan on Internet via groups and blogs.

The following is a detailed report compiled by a community-based organization on human rights violations against Baloch people in Pakistan and Iran. The report provides most valuable information, in a chronological order, for human rights activists around the world.
It is our hope that SAAGAR.ORG will also provide us with a detailed report on atrocities against Baloch women carried out by prevalent Baloch value systems.

January 2010
3rd:
Three Balochs, namely Saeed Kardi, Abdul Jalil Mir Balochzai and Jabir Yarmohammedzai were abducted from Kash, Iranian Occupied Balochistan.
4th:
The Voice for Missing Baloch Person and family members have besieged the Balochistan Assembly. As a protest against illegal disappearances.
7th:
Eight Balochs have been killed in an indiscriminate firing incident in Hassan Lashkari Village (a Baloch populated area) in Karachi by a militant ally of Pakistan government M.Q.M. Family members of the murdered men encircled the Sindh CM house. And more than 50 Balochs were arrested after theses incidents.
11th:
Committee of Balochistan Human Rights Activists in [Iran] has reported that A number of political prisoners sentenced to death in Balochistan. The group said that the accurate number of people sentence to death is not available but it is believed that dozens Baloch have been awarded sentences.
Few of them were:
– Abdul Rahman Naruee S/O Khalqdad
– Abed Gwahramzahi
– Abdul Hamid Regi S/O Azaad Regi
– Abduljalil Regi S/O Jan Mohammad Regi
– Nasser S/O Shahbaksh
– Mahmoud Regi S/O Nazar
15th:
Three Balochs were injured due to the indiscriminate firing of Coast Guards of Pakistan near Pishkan’s coastal area.
15th:
Pakistani FC (frontier Corps) have open indiscriminate fire on a peaceful rally of Baloch National Front (BNF) as a result two BSO (Azaad) members have been killed and several others seriously injured. The seriously injured Baloch activists Liaqat Baloch, Zafar Baloch, Inayat Baloch and Farid Baloch have been shifted to hospital for immediate treatment. The Martyred Baloch students have been named as Ali Dost Baloch and Sadam Baloch (who is said be only 14 years old) . The Baloch students were protesting against the killings of innocent Baloch in Karachi. BNF had given the call for wheel jam and shutter down strike on 15 January.
21st:
Balochistan Human Rights activists Associations (Iranian occupied Balochistan) have reported that a 26 year old Baloch activist Mr Allah Nazar Baloch has been executed in the City of Khash prison.
23rd:
Khodayar Rahmat-Zehi-Shahnavazi, 35, executed by Iran after spending 4 years in prison.
25th:
The Pakistan government decided to build a Naval Base in one of the historical regions of Gwader known as“KALMAT CHUNDI HORE”, 30,000 Kilometers area of the said region have been included to the map of Naval Base. A large number of residents of the region had to shift to other locations because of the government’s decision; thousands of fishermen lost their jobs as their work areas were occupied by Pakistan Navy.
25th:
BSO (Azaad) students attacked in Punjab Sahiwal.

February 2010
2nd:
Quetta: Mother of Shah Nawaz Marri in press conference revealed that her son has been abducted by Pakistani intelligence agencies at gun point.
2nd:
Baloch Human Right Council of [Canada] wrote a letter to Mr Ban Ki Moon the secretary General of the UN regarding the human rights abuses in Balochistan.
3rd:
Turbat/Pasni: High schools Blangor students took to streets against the drug dealers in Pasni and adjourning areas. The police baton charged and shot live rounds to disperse the demonstrations injuring 3 students.
4th:
Makuran: – A complete shutter-down and Wheel jam strike was observed in Kech (Makran) belt of Balochistan on Thursday on B.N.F.’s call against Frontier Corps (FC) check posts and delay in recovery & release of Baloch abducted persons, and forced allotment of Baloch peoples’ lands to Pakistan Navy in Ormara’s Kalmat region.
5th:
Wadh:The management of a hotel in Wadh were harassed and physical violence was committed against the workers by Pakistan army for asking the head of the convoy to pay the bill.
5th:
Quetta: In separate press statements the relatives of Attaullah Baloch, Qabeer Baloch, Mushtaq Baloch, Ali Asghar Bangulzai Baloch and Zakir Majeed Baloch have expressed grave fear that their loved one might have been harmed “physically eliminated” by the Pakistani intelligence agencies (MI and ISI).
5th:
Asian Human Rights Commission reported that the life of Zakir Majeed, Central Vice Chairman BSO Azaad is in extreme danger in the torture cells of Pakistan.
5th:
Mand: Pakistan army raided the house of Martyred Leader Ghulaam Muhammed and took his family hostage and harassed them.
9th:
Quetta: Baloch National Voice, a Baloch pro-independent organization complied and released a graphic list of 1086 Baloch abducted political activists.
9th:
Interfaith International, representing Baloch issue in United Nations was suspended.
13th:
A complete wheel jam and shutter down strike was observed in several cities of Balochistan including Kalat, Mastung, Kadh-Kocha, Mongchar and other areas on B.N.F.’s call against illegal abductions and harassment of Baloch students.
15th:
Members of B.S.O. (Azaad) Waseem Baloch and Najeeb Baloch were nominated to be involved in a bomb blast by a Major of Pakistan army without substantial evidence to support his claim.
18th:
Quetta: Action Committee for affected people Gurandani, darbela South and North Sarbander Gwader Allah Bux Baloch, Mahmood, Nasir Karim Baloch and others requested international organizations to take notice of Pakistan government’s occupation on their ancestral lands.
19th:
Frail mother of BRP’s information secretary Mr Jalil Reki appealed to the UN, International Red Cross and Asian Human Rights commission to intervene and play their role for the release of thousands of Baloch abducted activists.
19th:
Noshki: Activists of BRP (Baloch Republican Party) observed a protest rally against the sentencing Haji Jhanzeb and Zufliqar to ten years each and registering cases against another eleven members of the party.
20th:
Students attacked in punjab.
20th:
Iran executed a Baloch prisoner, Haji Dadollah Moradzehi, after eight months of imprisonment in the city of Zahedan. Meanwhile, Ahmad-Reza Rashidi, the Deputy Public Prosecutor in Ahvaz, revealed sentences for 38 executions and retributions as well as 4 ruthless amputations in Ahvaz since March 2009.
21st:
Family members and hundreds of other Baloch women and children took to streets against the abduction of thousands of Baloch political activists. They protested for several hours on Adalat road Quetta and insisted to go the Governor House but the Pakistani security forces did not allow them.
23rd:
Pakistan decided to build a second naval base in the region of Gwadar, known as Kalmat Chundi Hore. 30,000 acres of land was set aside for the proposed naval base resulting in displacement of thousands of people.
23rd:
British parliament notifies and shows concern on the human rights abuses in Pakistani Occupied Balochistan.
27th:
The aged mother of Kabeer Baloch appeals international organizations to get his son released who was abducted in March 2009 by Pakistan.

March 2010
1st:
Central spokesman of Baloch Bar feared that Abdul Malik Regi will also be executed if the UN did not intervene.
1st:
Pakistan attacks a cultural event organized by B.S.O. (Azaad) resulting in death of Junaid Baloch and Sikander Baloch, injuring more than 24, icluding Ayub, Malik Zain, Zulfiqar, Mujtaba, Bilawal, Gul Hassan, Abdul Haq, Shahnawaz ,Jaasim, Ubaidullah,Zafar Iqbal, Noor Muhammad, Qurban, Lecturer Waqar Ahmed, SHoaib, Jaasim, Shakeel Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed, Waseem Ul Ghani, Umar Jan, Beebagr, Nasrullah.
2nd:
Pakistan security forces raided a village in Ghirsani area of Kohlu Marri agency in Balochistan, and open indiscriminate fire. Seven members of the same family have been arrested for refusing to collaborate with Pakistan’s authorities to exploit the natural resources in Chamaling area. The abducted men have been named as Hyrat Khan S/O Shakal, Shakal S/O Alihan, Raheem Khan S/O Dost Mohammad, Rasool Khan S/O Dost Mohammad, Imam Bux S/O Dur Mohammd, Allah Bux S/O Dur Mohammad and Muala Bux S/O Dur Mohammd.
2nd:
A complete shutter down and wheel jam was observed in Khuzdar, Wadh, Naal and adjoining areas against the Khuzdar cultural program incident.
6th:
Shutter down and wheel jam protest was observed all over Balochistan for the third successive day against Khuzdar incident on B.S.O. Azaad’s call.
14th:
Baloch, Sindhi and other International Human Rights activists came together to address a conference and to protest against Pakistan’s atrocities in Sindh and Balochistan, on the 13th Session of the Human rights Council in Geneva.
15th:
Over two dozens relatives of various Baloch missing persons started a long march from the Shall (Quetta) to Islamabad to press the Pakistan for an early recovery missing people.
15th:
Pakistan announced to sentence Banok Karima Baloch Vice Chairperson B.S.O. (Azaad), Saeeda Baloch, Saima Baloch and Peer Jan Baloch for five years.
17th:
Majeed Baloch (junior) was brutally murdered by Pakistan’s decadent security forces in Shall.
19th:
Turbat: Barkat S/O Mulla Ibrahim and Walid S/O Yousaf Baloch, residents of Zamran region of Kech district have been murdered by Iranian security forces’ firing.
23rd:
B.S.O. (Azaad) organised three days hunger strike in front of Karachi press club to demand the immediate recovery of abducted Baloch student and political activists, and against the illegal occupation of Balochistan.
27th:
Complete strike all over Balochistan and a protest was held in U.K. to mark the day when Pakistan occupied Balochistan in 1948.
29th:
Yar Khan Marri, Sikandar Marri, Bhawal Marri and Abdul Majeed Marri were abducted by Pakistan while they were on thier way back to look for thier abducted relative Murad Khan Marri.

April 2010
2nd:
Police and Coast guards combinedly broke into the houses of the locals in Pasni, arresting six people including a 18 year old student Saghir Bashir. The locals were harrassed and physically assaulted Baloch women. Others who were arrested were Nizam Nazar, Amir Buksh, Usman, Adnan, SherJan and Dilbar.
2nd:
BNM activist Mahboob Wadhela Baloch, son of Mir Abdul Nabi Bangulzai, Bohair Bangolzai abducted by Pakistan army.
3rd:
First anniversary of the martyrs of Murghaap was observed throughout Balochistan.
4th:
Military offensive in severeal areas of Dera Bugti including Mero, Shah Poor, Chattar Flanji, Suri, Khatan, Shahzain and Bandarag, where children and women were harrassed and assaulted by Pakistan army.
5th:
Family of Ghaffar Langov set up a token hunger strike protest in front of Quetta Press Club and family, friends and party colleagues of Mahboob Wadhela Baloch have demanded his immediate release.
7th:
Pakistan’s security forces shot dead a political activist Abdul Haq Samalani in Naal, Khuzdar.
8th:
Five Balochs namely Kamal Khan Marri, Laeya Marri, Lala Marri and Lal Mohammd Marri were abducted by Pakistan on Hazar Ganjo road.
10th:
A shutter down protest was observed in Gawader against the abductions of Baloch political activists.
10th:
Sher Mohammad son of Mirza Shah Bux Baloch was killed in Zahidan prison by Iran.
11th:
A Baloch journalist along with five colleagues was abducted by Pakistan army from Turbat.
13th:
Murad Khan Marri, who remained incommunicado for nine months and was brought into the limelight by the Frontier Corp (FC), disappeared again while in the custody of FC.
15th:
Two young girls, both sisters, aged 11 and 13, were severely injured in an acid attack in Dalbandin City, district Chaghai, Balochistan. The attack was carried out by Pakistan’s secret agencies to promote religious violence in Balochistan.
17th:
Iran hanged two Balochs in southern city of Kerman, named Feizollah and Nazar Baloch.
19th:
Baloch students were assaulted by a group of Punjabi students in Bahawalpur, resulting in severe injuries to Shabir Baloch, Raza Ali Marri and Shahab Baloch.
20th:
Pakistan unleashed a massive search operation in Baloch-populated localities of Quetta city, killing the mother of a Baloch political activist and rounding up around two hundred people hailing from various spheres of life.
25th:
Rahim Baloch was shot dead by police caliming him to be a terrorist and hence not providing any proves to support thier claim.
26th:
Quetta Police arrested 42 Balochs from Sariab area without mentioning the reasons behind the arrests.
26th:
Pakistani Military started a military operation in Talli and surrounding areas, near Sibi. Military poisoned the water puddles, looted of valuables from people’s houses and tryied to kidnap Baloch women during the operation.
29th:
Three little girls were victimised of acid attacks in the continuation of Pakistan’s policies to promote religious violence in Balochistan.
30th:
Mach region’s tribal and social leaders Habib Marri and Malook Marri were abducted by Pakistan army while they on their way to appear in ATF (Anti Terrorist Force) court in Sibi.

May 2010
7th:
Three Balochs were injured due to firing by the Iranian Security Forces (SF) in Talab Area.
7th:
Shabir Sheikh CCPO Quetta talking to newsmen after the inauguration of Police Child Protection Centre at Jinnah Town said the only solution to the problem of target killing “is target killing in retaliation.”
9th:
Torture cell discovered in Dera Bugti which is being supervised by Pakistan and holds more than 200 Balochs.
10th:
Farooq Mengal, 30, abducted from luck pass area by Pakistan army.
11th:
Farmers in Balochistan observed a strike against prolonged power cuts, due to which thier crops were destroyed.
13th:
The family of Zakir Majeed B.S.O. (Azaad) Senior vice chairman from Balochistan urged United Nations to take notice of the abduction of Zakir and other abducted Balochs.
15th:
The Pakistani Taliban supported by Pakistan army sent threatening letters to schools in Balochistan areas bordering Iran and Afghanistan, which has forced the institutions to shut down.
19th:
A shutterdown strike was observed in Balochistan against the arrest of Baloch students by the police from Balochistan university.
20th:
Baloch National Voice strongly condemned the Quetta jail administration and ATF for the mistreatment and torture of Baluch pro-independent leaders Wahid Qambar Baluch, Mir Qadir Baluch and Haji Murad Khan Marri.
21st:
Ishfaq Mullazai, 25, abducted by Pakistan army from Sariyab, Quetta.
21st:
Pakistan refuses to allow United States to open a consulate in Quetta.
23rd:
A so called judicial commission constituted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan refused to enrol the statement of Zakir Majeed Baloch’s relatives making an excuse that his name was not on the list of disappeared people.
24th:
Abdolhamid Rigi, a political prisoner who endured a long period of pressure and torture in Iranian regime’s jails, was hanged in Zahedan prison.
24th:
As part of the ‘International Struggle Week Against Disappearances’, ICAD held a very detailed and informative public meeting on the subject of ‘Disappearances, Impunity and Global Justice’ in SOAS University in London on Saturday 22nd May. The abductions in Balochistan were highlighted in the meeting.
24th:
Dr Naseem Baluch along with his two friend Yaseen Baluch and Elyas Baluch was whisked away by Pakistani security forces from Bolan Mendical College Quetta.
28th:
Shutter down protest all over Balochistan and a protest in Washington DC against the nuclear explosion carried out in Balochistan.
30th:
Police shot dead a political activist Naseer Langov and injured five others , as it fired on a protest against the indiscriminate arrests in Balochistan.
30th:
ICAD (UK section) marked the last day of “International Struggle Week again Disappearance” by holding a Vigil in front of Westminster Cathedral here on Saturday afternoon. The participants of the Vigil held pictures of force-disappeared people from different countries including Latin America, Colombia, Kurdistan (Turky) and Baluchistan.
31st:
Doctors and Para-medics have established a protest camp against the abductions and extra judicial killings of their fellow doctors by Pakistani government forces.
31st:
The token hunger strike protest of Zakir Majeed’s family continues for the 18th day for discovery and release of Mr. Majeed, a senior vice chairman of BSO-azaad. Meanwhile talking to newsmen the sister of Zakir Majeed Baluch has said that her brother was abducted on 8 June 2009 by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan from Mastung, Baluchistan. “The aim of our porters is my brother’s recover, release and to seek justice, but the agents of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have started to warn us of dire consequences; they are threatening harm us”.

June 2010
1st:
Pakistani armed forces launched a massive military operation in Dasht and Gawader with the hardcore conventional forces, backed by Jet fighters, helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles.
2nd:
The Pakistani military has intensified its military offensives in the surrounding areas of Kech and Gwader. Military carried out a grand assault in the Mountainous areas of Dasht Baluchistan, including Talar, Katerinz, Saeyjee, Darrwar, Thump. Pakistan army’s fighter planes bombed the mountainous area between Thump and Blangoor which is called Gwanzag Koh. Villages and huts were affected by the bombings and hundreds of people were forces to leave thier ancestral areas.
6th:
A woman was killed and more than a dozen others wounded Saturday as over 80 mud houses were damaged in various areas of Balochistan due to heavy rains caused by cyclone Phet . At least 250,000 people are believed to be stuck in water in the coastal region of Balochistan. Serious diseases spread throughout the area as Pakistan did not allowed NGO’s to enter Balochistan for relief work.
8th:
27th day of Zakir’s Majeed’s family’s continuous token hunger strike camp in front of Karachi press club.
11th:
The former nazim of Kohlu district Kamal Khan Marri has said that his brother Sorab Khan Marri had been whisked away by the secrete agencies and has still not been released after lapse of 9 months.
11th:
The Baloch Bar Association boycotted court proceedings and observed a ‘black day’ on Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s arrival in Baluchistan on Friday. The lawyers did so to register their protest against the court’s inability to recover Baloch missing persons.
11th:
Members of Baluch Students Organization Azaad Abdul Sattar Baluch and Bebagr Baluch were martyred and Mehrullah Baluch was severely injured in the area of Khoshak, Khuzdar due to an planned assault by Pakistan army.
18th:
Baloch Students Organization (BSO-Azad) burnt hundreds of Pakistan Studies text books in different parts of Balochistan and called for Baloch teachers to silently support the boycott by refusing to teach Pakistan studies.
19th:
Lawyers fraternity boycotted courts in protest against the abduction of a lawyer Munir Mirwari and threatened that if he was not released immediately they would go on indefinite strike.
20th:
Abdul Mailk Riegi was murdered by Iran without any trial.
21st:
The family members of Zakir Majeed Baloch, Vice Chairman of Baloch Students Organization (BSO), established thier hunger strike in Quetta.
23rd:
Hundreds of doctors belonging to different hospitals took out a protest rally in Shall (Quetta) and castigated the kidnapping of three doctors.
25th:
Balochs in Norway, Karachi and Balochistan protested against Pakistan on the International Day Against Torture.
28th:
Pakistan continuously refused to issue visa to the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances [AFAD] to go to Pakistan and meet with family members of the victims in Balochistan.

July 2010
1st:
Coordinator of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Shams Baloch was abducted from Luckpass area by Pakistan army while he was accompanying his mother for her medical treatment due to serious illness.
2nd:
More than 20 families of abducted Balochs staged a protest in front of Balochistan High Court against its unwillingness to take the cases of abducted Baloch.
3rd:
Baloch youth Faiz Ullah Baloch was shot dead by Pakistan army, and his companions Mange Khan Baloch and Bahadur Baloch were abducted from Hazar Ghanji.
12th:
Baloch lawyers observed strike in Quetta, Kalat, Mastung, Dasht, Surab, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Uthal, Pasni, Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Kharan, Chagai, Naushki, Sibi, Dera Allahyar, Dera Murad Jamali, Usta Mohammad and some other parts of Balochistan against the non recovery of abducted Balochs.
13th:
Habib Jalib Baloch shot dead by Pakistan intelligence agencies even though he belonged to a pro Pakistan political party.
13th:
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) feared that Iranian authorities’ intent to execute sixteen year old Baloch, Mohammad Saber Malek Raisi, who would become the latest minor to join Tehran’s death row.
14th:
Many shops which were owned by Baloch dwellers were set ablaze by Iranian revolutionary guards in Zahedan.
25th:
Najeeb Langov and Faizullah Baluch were tortured to death by Pakistan army.
25th:
Balochistan’s national newspaper Tawar receives threats by intelligence agencies, and its reporters were threatened to be killed if they do not stop reporting the human rights violations by Pakistan.
25th:
Ramzan Baloch, a member of Baloch national Movement was abducted from the Uthal area near to Karachi zero point by Pakistan army.
25th:
Interior Minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik admits that the Norwegian citizen Ehsan Arjemandi is held by Pakistan.
26th:
Ishfaq Mullazai and Farooq mengal were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their mutilated bodies were thrown at Qambarani road Quetta.

August 2010
5th:
Member of Zonal Cabinet of Peshawar zone of B.S.O. (Azaad) Tariq Baloch was abducted from Quetta.
4th:
Omer Baloch and Arz Muhammed Baloch Abducted from Quetta.
6th:
Two bullet riddled bodies of “Baloch missing persons” found from Brewery Road of Quetta. They were identified as Bahar Khan Bangulzai and Ghaulam Qadir Marri and were previously kidnapped by Pakistan army.
11th:
Baloch Day Celebrated in the European Parliament
11th:
Nazeer Ahmed Baloch, 25, was tortured to death by Pakistan army, he was previously kept in the secret torture cells of Pakistan.
11th:
The body of Azizullah Baloch was found from the bypass, he was tortured to death by Pakistan army.
14th:
Relatives of missing persons staged a protest demonstration at Manan Chowk of Quetta and demanded early and safe recovery of the abducted Balochs.
18th:
Sardar Nadel Jan Ghichki shot dead by Pakistan’s secret agencies.
19th:
Zaman Khan Marri abducted from Quetta and Tahir Muhammed from Koshak area of Khuzdar by Pakistan army.
23rd:
Pakistan army’s covert team named Sipah Shuhdae Balochistan threatens the Baloch outside Balochistan to stop their activities or they would target them where ever they are.
24th:
Baloch areas affected by Flood were struggling for survival as the international funds were only being spent on Punjabi populated areas.
24th:
Omer Baloch and Arz Muhammed Baloch tortured to death by Pakistan army, and their dead bodies were thrown in Qambarani road in Killi Barov, Quetta.
26th:
A shutter down strike is being observed in Quetta and several other parts of Balochistan o on the occasion of the fourth death anniversary of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti who was murdered by Pakistan army.
26th:
Tahir Muhammad was tortured to death and his body was thrown in Khuzdar.
28th:
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) shows concern on the inaction of Pakistan regarding abducted Balochs.

September 2010
2nd:
No way to tell which is worse Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Balochistan , says Amnesty official.
2nd:
The Baloch Bar Association (BBA) observed a Balochistan-wide boycott to protest against the non-recovery of missing persons and kidnapping of two fellow lawyers, Munir Ahmed Mirwani and Zaman Mari.
3rd:
Bahram Baluch, a student of Baluchistan University abducted from compound of Baluchistan University, Quetta by Pakistan army.
4th:
Pakistan Army opened indiscriminate fire on a peaceful rally in Hub Baluchistan; as a result of the firing a 13 year-old Baluch student Mohammad Jan Marri was shot dead.
6th:
President of BRP Gawader Zone Arif Rehman was abducted by Pakistan army from Karachi.
6th:
International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons held a protest in London against enforced-disappearances of Baluch student and political activists.
6th:
Zaman Khan Marri tortured to death by Pakistan army, his body was thrown in a nearby town of Mastung.
8th:
Canadian Baloch step up to the plate to help victims of enforced disappearances
8th:
Imran Baloch, member of B.S.O. (Azaad) abducted by Pakistan army from Khuzdar. General public gave a strong reaction and RCD highway was blocked for several hours.
11th:
Ex Zonal president of B.S.O. (Azaad) Zakir Bangulzai abducted from Mastung by Pakistan.
11th:
Families of missing Balochs protest against the non recovery of abducted Balochs on “Eid Day”.
13th:
Ali Marri was tortured to death by Pakistan and his body was found where two other tortured bodies of victims of enforced disappearances arrived at the Bolan Medical College Hospital in Quetta.
13th:
The Tootak zone press secretary of the Baloch Students Organization Azad Asif Baloch, and his relative Zaffar Baloch were abducted by Pakistan army.
14th:
Two Baloch flood victims, including a pregnant woman and a child, sustained bullet injuries when personnel of Pakistan army fired shots in order to disperse a crowd that had gathered to fetch water at a relief camp near Badini Cross in Quetta
15th:
An all out military operation was launched in Dera Bugti and adjacent areas by Pakistani occupying forces with sophisticated weapons.
16th:
Strike observed in Balochistan on B.S.O. (Azaad)’s call against the torture murder tactic of Pakistan and enforced disappearances.
17th:
Dr Alla Nizar’s Appealsto World Community to pay attention on war crimes of Pakistan.
17th:
A Balochi music album by Hameed Sharif was banned and the albums were burnt by Pakistan army in Panjgur.
18th:
13 year old Saeed Baloch, assaulted by Pakistan army in Tump.
19th:
At least 0.2 million people of Dera Bugti and Kohlu, displaced after army operation couple of years back and got shelter in the bordering areas of Sindh and Punjab, are remain homeless as their makeshifts have been inundated due to devastating floods, reported B.U.C..
19th:
Pakistan-Iran Joint Military Operation in Mand Balochistan, two Balochs Tariq and Abdullah were martyred. The locals were besieged in their houses during the operation and many of them were harassed by the Pakistan and Iranian forces.
23rd:
Faqeer Mohammad Shawani abducted by Pakistan army from Mastung.
24th:
Baloch lawyer Ali Sher Kurd tortured to death by Pakistan army.
25th:
Pakistani security forces attacked the ‘’Ghulam Pirenz’’ village of Lehri tribe in Mastung area of Balochistan, as a result of firing five women badly injured, two got killed including a six months old baby. Security forces also entered in the houses , women and children being harassed and badly tortured. Dozens of houses, vehicles were set on fire, as a result all appliances and furniture completely damaged. The security forces also robbed the jewelries and cash money from the houses and shops. Number of cars and motorbikes taken away by FC, while forces arrested the 23 villagers and all shifted to the unknown location.
26th:
Commenting on the ongoing military operation by Pakistani and Iranian forces in the Western border of Balochistan, Doda Baloch warned if these forces spread their military operation to Eastern Balochistan, BLF will spread its armed activities to Western Balochistan.
27th:
Baloch Student Organisation (Azaad) staged a protest on Monday at National Press Club (NPC) to condemn the abductions of 8,000 Baloch activists, torture and subsequent murder of Ali Sher Kurd, a Baloch lawyer, writer and poet. The Islamabad based journalists boycotted the protest and used abusive language against the Baloch protesters. The capital police and journalists jointly tortured the Baloch students, several of them badly injured, later police lodged FIR against all of the student protesters.
28th:
The sister of Zakir Majeed Baloch after engaging herself for 139 days in hunger strike for the recovery of her brother has finally announced the end of their protest as she claimed that the hunger strike which was meant for the recovery of her brother and thousand others receive no approach from any state institution.
29th:
Indiscriminate firing of Pakistan army in Panjgur resulted in the death of a shopkeeper Ateeq s/o Dost Mohammad and a passerby kareem Baloch was injured.
30th:
Pakistan army did a house to house search in Dera bugti, looting the valuables of the locals and arresting several who resisted. While children and women were harrassed.

October 2010
1st:
Shakar Baloch and Sami Baloch, members of Baloch Student Organisations(AZAD) Khuzdar zone, abducted by Pakistan Army from Khuzdar. Similarly Sohbat Khan Marri and Arzi Marri were abducted by Pakistan Army from Hub City.
3rd:
Baloch Republican party’s former president of district Gwadar Ahmed Dad Baloch was abducted by Pakistan Army from Gwadar zero point.
8th:
Aslam Baloch resident of Makola-Kalmat some 80km from Pasni, was abducted by Pakistan’s coast guards.
10th:
A Member of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Yasin Muhammad Shahi Baloch was gunned by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies near Roshare Kalat.
13th:
A Central Committee member of Balochistan National Party Mir Noor-Ud-Din Meengal was murdered in Ghareeb Abad area of Kalat.
13th:
Massive Bombardment and Operation was Conducted over the Civilian Population of Mashkay Balochistan.
14th:
Pakistani atrocities were continued in Mashkay Balochistan,public properties set ablaze by occupying forces.
14th:
Members of Baloch Student Organization (Azaad)Gwadar zone Sameer Baloch and Yasir Baloch were abducted by Pakistan army from ‘’Surbandar’’ area of Gwadar.
16th:
In the region of Mashkay Pakistan army continued the operation where in-between 50 houses of Baloch populations were burned down and several houses were looted. Bashir Ahmed Baloch, a tailor and his two sons of aged 9 and 13 were abducted from Wahejo, a small town in Mashkay and school teacher Raza Mohammed Baloch, his relatives Adam Baloch, Aziz Baloch, Rasool Bux Baloch and Ibrahim Baloch were also abducted.
16th:
The son of a former city nazim was killed in an acid attack in Kharan, some 350 kilometres from Quetta.
17th:
B.S.O. (Azaad) announces to boycott print and electronice media on its biasness and silence on the Mashkay operation.
18th:
13 year old member of B.S.O. (Azaad) Majeed Baloch abducted from Khuzdar.
19th:
More than 24 Balochs injured or murdered by Pakistan’s militant ally M.Q.M. to divert attention from Mashkay operation.
20th:
UK Border Agency denied Hyrbyair Marri’s preliminary application for asylum in the UK
21st:
Zahoor Baloch, member of B.S.O. (Azaad) and Faqeer Muhammed Shahwani were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their bodies were dumped in the nearby areas of Mastung.
22nd:
Following the three day call of shutter down by BSO Azaad, the banks reacted very positively by closing down their branches in Gwadar on the 3rd day too. This protest was against the brutal killings and kidnapping of Baloch political and social activists by the Pakistan.
23rd:
The relatives and well-wishers of a missing person, Najeeb Qambarani, took out a rally in Quetta to condemn his illegal arrest, allegedly by the security forces.
24th:
13 year old Majeed Baloch, tortured to death by Pakistan army.
24th:
Three members of BSO (Azad) abducted from Karachi namely Tariq Kareem Baloch, Noman Baloch, and Yaseen Baloch.
26th:
Amnesty International urged Pakistan to investigate murder and torture of Baloch activists.
27th:
School teacher Saifullah Qalandarani and his younger brother Anwaar Ul Haq Qalandarani abducted from their home in Khuzdar by Pakistan Army.
27th:
Journelist Lala Hameed S/o Hayatan Baloch also president of Baloch National Movement (Gwadar Zone) was abducted by Pakistan army on his way from Dasht to Gawader.
29th:
Member of Organizing Committee Multan Zone of B.S.O. Azaad, Asim Kareem Baloch was abducted from Khuzdar.
31st:
Arif Noor Baloch was abducted by Pakistan Army from Karachi.

November 2010
1st:
Asim Kareem Baloch was tortured to death by Pakistan army.
2nd:
Demonstration held for recovery of Arif Baloch, while Police refused to lodge the FIR.
6th:
BNM senior member Naseer Kamalan is abducted by Pakistan Army from Karwat area of Gwader.
6th:
B.S.O.(Azaad) rejected police accusations against Sikander and Suleman Baloch, members of B.S.O. (Azaad). Both were arrested for having a book on history of Balochistan written by Mir Gul Khan Naseer.
7th:
Nisar Ahmed, brother of the martyred leader Rasool Bux Mengal was abducted by Pakistan army from Clifton, Karachi.
8th:
Protest Against Forced-Disappearances In Balochistan was held in London.
8th:
A shutter-down and wheel-jam strike was observed all over in Balochistan, in response to a strike call by Baloch Students Organization (Azaad) over abductions and killings of missing persons by Pakistan.
8th:
Conference on Enforced Disappearances in Balochistan was held in Geneva.
12th:
It was revealed that thousands of acres of land in Lasbela district belonging to the local inhabitants were sold to Arab princes by Pakistan’s army personals without the consent of the actual owners.
14th:
Tariq Taheer, the Son of a poet of Balochi language and a social worker from Tanzag was abducted by Pakistan army last night near Gwader at Zero Point.
17th:
Four bodies riddled with bullets and terrible signs torture were found in different locations of Balochistan. Two of them were identified as Basheer Ahmad Baloch and Sami Baloch. Two more bodies have reportedly been found in Mastung and Turbat who have not been identified yet. Victims identified as Lala Hamid Baloch of BNM Gwadar while another one identified as Hamid Ismail Baloch who is resident of Turbat. This was the day of Eid and Pakistan army claimed this to be the eid gift for Baloch nation.
19th:
Hasmat Ullah, Ahmed Ismail, Nasr Ullah Baloch were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their bodies were dumped in different areas of Balochistan.
20th:
Balochistan completely shuts to mark Balaach Marri’s third martyrdom anniversary.
23rd:
6 mutilated bodies were found near Quetta, and by dressing they were identified as Balochs but the bodies were not recognizable.
24th:
Shahnawaz Baloch, a BNM leader, was shot dead by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies in Ormara.
26th:
Pakistan army abducted BSO(Azaad)’s C.C. member Qambar Chakar along with his cousin Irshad Nasir from Turbat.
30th:
Three Balochs were shot dead by the Iranian coastguards near a coastal township in Iranian occupied Balochistan.

December 2010
1st:
Mutilated and decomposed dead body of Waheed Qambrani was recovered from Raje some 20km from Kalat city, he was abducted by Pakistan army.
1st:
Pakistan’s forces attacked house of a Baloch notable Ayub Ghichki, five innocent Balochs were martyred, namely as Murad Jan Gichki, Zubair Gichki, Hammal Gichki, Pullok Baloch and Sattar Baloch.
2nd:
Balochistan shuts to protest against the killing of five Baloch youths by Pakistan.
4th:
Journalists staged a protest demonstration in Chathar against the attack on Muhammed Luqman, a journalist by Pakistan army.
5th:
Pakistan’s secret agencies attacked religious clerics in Mashkay to promote religious violence in Balochistan.
7th:
Balochistan is the most dangerous place for Journalists in Pakistan said Gwader Press Club.
10th:
Relatives and friends of missing persons, including women and children, staged a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club, and demanded that the United Nations and humanitarian organizations should take notice of the issue.
11th:
Baloch Student Organization (Azaad)’s (BSO-A) central committee member, comrade Qayum Baloch along with his friend was abducted from Gwader by intelligence agencies of Pakistan.
12th:
Complete strike in Balochistan against arrest of BSO (Azaad) leaders.
14th:
Strike against BSO leader’s arrest enters fourth day, while FC started a house-to-house search in Gwadar.
15th:
Political activist Rais Ali Ahmed Langou was gunned down in Kalat by Pakistan’s secret agencies.
16th:
Relatives of missing people announced that they would establish a camp before the Karachi Press Club to record their protest with humanitarian organizations. This was the fifth consecutive month of their protest.
17th:
Iran arrested a young Baloch blogger Ebrahim Hossienbor
17th:
Pakistan Army has threw five tortured bodies of Balochs in different areas of Balochistan. Bodies Yousaf Baloch and Abdul Raziq Baloch were recovered in Turbat, whereas bodies of Ibrahim Hasni Baloch and Noor Ahmed Baloch were found in Khuzdar, who were tortured to an extent that they were barely recognizable. Saifullah Bugti, another victim of torture murder strategy of Pakistan, was severely tortured and his body was found in Karachi.
18th:
Khuda Raheem Bangulzai was tortured to death by Pakistan army and his body was dumped on Sabzal Road Quetta.
21st:
Iran publicly hanged eleven Baloch dissidents. Names of those hanged by Irani Regime:
1. Abdolbasset Shahbakhsh s/o Allahdad
2. Abdolnasser Shahbakhsh s/o Allahdad
3. Abdolshakur Zangizahi s/o Hossain
4. Mohammad Saleh Islamzahi s/o Atta Mohammad
5. Nasser Shahbakhsh s/o Zaman
6. Lal Mohammad Shahbakhsh s/o Karim
7. Attaollah Rigi s/o Nazar Mohammad
8. Abdolrahman Naruvi s/o Khaleqdad
9. Abdolrauf Shahbakhsh s/o Shanbeh
10. Balanch Naruvi s/o Ali
11. Ahmad Naruvi s/o Abdolkarim.
21st:
Siddique Baloch and Yousuf Baloch were abducted by Pakistan army on their way home after appearing in a court in Gwader, whereas Ilyas Baloch was abducted from Coastal Highway Ormara.
22nd:
Protest in Pasni against abductions of Baloch youths by Pakistani secret agencies
26th:
The Baloch Students Organization (BSO) Azaad held a demonstration to protest the kidnapping of its activists and demanded that international humanitarian organizations intervene in the matter.
26th:
FC search operation in Quetta, 80 innocent Baloch arrested in Killi Qambarani.
26th:
Faraz Sarparah and Zubair Sarparah were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their bodies were found near Killi Qambarani and Shahzian Marri and Sohbat Marri’s body were found in Dasht area 20 km in the south of Quetta.
26th:
Political activist Latif Shahwani was murdered by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
28th:
Qadeer Baloch, Vice Chairman, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, while talking to Business Recorder said that so far 13,300 Baloch nationals had been made missing in which 147 women and 152 children are included in this number.
30th:
Asa Zafar, a prominent political leader and ex president of Baloch National Movement (BNM)was abducted by Pakistan army from Turbat coastal highway.
30th:
Four More Dead Bodies Found in Turbat,victims included Mohammad Shoaib from Kharan, Attaullah s/o Dad Baksh from Mand, Naimatullah from Tump and the fourth one has not yet been recognized.

QUETTA: Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working for women’s rights, has said violence against women in Balochistan intensified in 2008, but Baloch society still adopts a defensive attitude and justifies the killing of women in the name of honour and tradition.

In a dialogue with media representatives on ‘Problems in accessibility of information about violence against women’ on Monday, the organisation said Baloch women were victims of violence due to widespread illiteracy, entrenched tribal traditions, distorted interpretation of Islam and economic dependence of women on men.

Cases: The organisation said around 600 cases of violence against women were reported in 2008, which included the murder of 89 women in the first nine months of the year. At least 115 women were murdered in cases of honour killing. The reported cases included 255 incidents of women being subjected to domestic violence. People are unwilling to discuss the violence as a majority of Balochistan people justify such acts in the name of tradition, it said. In some other cases, violence against women in rural areas remains unreported in media because of inaccessibility of the area as well as the dominance of men in society, who believe the publication of reports of violence against women amounts to the disrepute of their respective tribes.

The year’s most disturbing news concerning the plight of women came from Naseerabad district in Balochistan, where five women were allegedly buried alive by tribal elders in the name of honour. Federal Minister Mir Israrullah Zehri and Senate Deputy Speaker Jan Muhammad Jamli defended the incident on the Senate floor and called it “a part of Baloch traditions” and the government failed to expose the culprits and the motives behind the killings. The Naseerabad killings still remain a mystery. “Violence against women is a global phenomenon. It takes place in different parts of the world under varying pretexts,” Aurat Foundation Balochistan Co-ordinator Saima Javaid said. She said, “Our biggest concern is that such violence is unabated, rampant and unnoticed.” Dostain Khan Jamaldini, a researcher, said various hurdles hindered objective reporting of women’s issues in the province. He said violence against women is not taken seriously or addressed at the community level.

Confront: Nationalist as well as communal sentiments and a colonial mindset confront those protesting violence against women. Political leaders remain defensive on the issue, and describe media and NGO reporting as an intrusion in internal matters and traditions. Similarly, communal segments of society dismiss such reports as Western propaganda against Islam. “We need to set our house in order before becoming defensive. The poor state of women’s rights is a bitter reality in our society and we cannot ignore this serious matter for long under different subterfuges,” Jamaldini said. The participants of the day-long dialogue agreed that print and electronic media could best highlight violence against women by describing it as a practice being promoted in the name of Islam and tribal traditions. Journalists and scholars should not use unqualified religious leaders as their primary source in write-ups and reports. Those who contend that Islam is responsible for the suppression of women and violence against women are oblivious to the true teachings of the religion. Islam gives equal status to women in the social, educational and economic spheres, according to one of the speakers.

Illahuddin Khilji, another Aurat Foundation representative, said gender discrimination towards women by male lawmakers, journalists and religious scholars contributed to ‘biased reporting’ of events, while their female counterparts often exaggerated the issues in their reports.

If cheating in bed was always settled by the bullet, many of us would be dead. Gerald Martin’s new biography of Gabriel García Márquez reveals that Chronicle of a Death Foretold was based on the murder of the novelist’s friend Cayetano Gentile in Sucre in 1951. He had seduced, deflowered and abandoned Margarita Chica Salas. On her wedding day Margarita’s husband was told that she was no longer a virgin. The bride was sent back to her family home. Her brothers then found Gentile and chopped his body into pieces. Márquez blamed the socio-moral dictatorship of the Catholic Church.

But of course it is usually women who are killed for breaking codes of sexual conduct. There have been several recent cases in Britain. Banaz Mahmod, a 20-year-old of Kurdish origin, was murdered in Surrey at the behest of her father because she’d left an arranged marriage and her father didn’t approve of her new boyfriend. Iraq has lately seen a spate of such murders. Last month acid was thrown at three women in Basra who were talking to a male friend. Yet Iraq once had the highest proportion of women integrated into every level of society of any Arab country.

And then there is Pakistan. In 2005 Pervez Musharraf pushed through legislation making honour killing a capital offence yet official statistics admit to 1261 honour killings in 2006 and half that number again the following year. The actual figures are probably much higher, since many deaths go unreported. ‘Women are considered the property of the males in their family irrespective of their class, ethnic or religious group, and the owner of the property has the right to decide its fate,’ Tahira Shahid Khan of Shirkat Gah, a group that campaigns for equal rights for women, reported in 1999. Domestic violence too, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, is ‘considered normal . . . A sample survey showed 82 per cent of women in rural Punjab feared violence resulting from their husbands’ displeasure over minor matters; in the most developed urban areas 52 per cent admitted being beaten by their husbands.’

Consider the following. A man dreams his wife has betrayed him. He wakes up and sees her lying next to him. In a fury he kills her. This really happened in Pakistan and the killer escaped punishment. If dreams are to be treated as justification for an honour killing, what woman is safe? Since the police and the judicial system regard murder in the family as a private affair, most cases don’t get to court even if they’re reported. Society, it’s said, needs to protect its foundations. So mostly we rely on the information collected by the Human Rights Commission and on courageous lawyers like Hina Jilani and Asma Jehangir, two sisters both of whom have received numerous death threats.

In 1999, Hina Jilani was in her office with Samia Sarwar, a mother of two from Peshawar seeking a divorce from her husband, when Sarwar’s mother burst into the room with two armed men in tow and had her daughter shot dead. In 1989 Samia Sarwar had married a first cousin. For six years he beat her and kicked her. But after he threw her downstairs when she was pregnant with their second child, she went back to her parents’ house. The minute she told them she wanted a divorce they threatened to kill her. Yet they were educated and wealthy people.

One widely reported murder this year was that of Tasleem Solangi, the 17-year-old daughter of a livestock trader in the Khairpur District of Sindh. She wanted to go to university and become a doctor like her uncle, but instead agreed to marry a cousin in order to settle a protracted family dispute over property. Her mother, Zakara Bibi, tried to stop her, but Tasleem was determined. Her father-in-law, Zamir Solangi, came to collect her and swore on the Koran that no harm would befall her. A month after the marriage, Zakara had a message from her daughter: ‘Please forgive me, mother. I was wrong and you were right. I fear they will kill me.’ On 7 March, they did. She was eight months pregnant. The Koran-swearer accused her of infidelity and said the baby was not his son’s. She went into labour, her child was born and instantly thrown to the dogs. She pleaded for mercy, but the dogs were set on her as well and the terrified girl was then shot dead. On this occasion at least there was an inquiry. Her husband was charged with Tasleem’s murder and is currently awaiting trial.

Another case much discussed this year is that of five women in Baluchistan who were buried alive in Baba Kot village, about 250 miles east of Quetta, the Baluch capital. Three of the women were young and wanted to marry men they’d chosen for themselves; two older women were helping them. Three male relatives have been arrested. According to the local police chief, the brother of two of the girls has admitted that he shot three of the women and helped bury them, though they weren’t even dead. The trial date is awaited.

Traditionalists have always considered love to be something that brings shame on families: patriarchs should be the ones to decide who is to be married to whom, often for reasons to do with property. If you fall in love, the 18th-century Urdu poet Mir Hassan explained (more than once), you will be burned by its fire and perish. That is what happened in the Punjabi city of Wah in late October. Now Wah has half a million inhabitants and Pakistan’s largest ordnance factories, but it was once an idyllic village almost floating on water. The streams and lakes that surrounded it attracted the Mughal emperor Jehangir, who stopped there on his way home from Kashmir, and is said to have exclaimed ‘Wah!’ or ‘Wow!’, thus giving the village its name. Before that it had been called Jalalsar after one of my forebears, Sardar Jalal Khan, a leader of the Khattar tribe around 800 years ago. His successors wanted to please the emperor and agreed to the name change. I can’t imagine that the decision was taken without a fierce struggle (one faction is said to have been deeply hostile to the arriviste Mughals), but those speaking sweetnesses to power won the day.

Jehangir built a beautiful, domed rest-house in Wah, surrounded on all sides by flowing water. In 1639, his son Shah Jehan supervised the landscaping of beautiful water gardens and pavilions. More than half a century ago, I used to play hide and seek here with my cousins. The pavilions were ruins by then, which made them even more magical on a moonlit night. A cousin swore that the ghosts of the Mughals could be seen in the mist on a winter night, but nobody believed her. The caretaker was extremely sharp-tongued, although when talking to my uncles and aunts, he masked his intelligence in language of exaggerated humility. We were never deceived and threatened to expose him if he gave us a hard time.

Other ghosts lurk there now. A mile and a half from the old village, my youngest maternal uncle, Sardar Ghairat Hyat Khan, built himself a house and moved out of the decaying manor house we’d all shared. My Kashmiri great-grandmother, Ayesha, moved with him. Before she became completely blind she was the best cook in the world and my visits were always rewarding. Shortly before I left Pakistan for Britain I went to say goodbye to her. She said: ‘I feel a moustache. Is it really you?’ ‘No,’ I replied trying to make my voice deeper, ‘I am a stranger here, but I was told your bakarkhanis tasted like heaven.’ Bakarkhanis are a crumbly, Kashmiri version of the croissant. I’ve not been to his house for a long time but I’m told it’s in a state of disrepair and crumbling like the bakarkhanis.

In the last week of October, my uncle’s granddaughter, Zainab, barely 18 years old, was shot dead by her brothers, Inam and Hamza Ahmed. Zainab apparently had a lover and despite repeated warnings refused to stop seeing him. She was on the phone to him in her grandfather’s house when her brothers pumped seven bullets into her body. I don’t know whether her mother, Ghairat’s oldest daughter Roohi, whom I last saw when she was about ten, was part of the plot. Whether or not she was involved, I find it deeply shocking that my uncle allowed the young woman’s body to be buried that same day without at least insisting that a First Information Report be lodged at the local police station, let alone demanding an autopsy. Zainab deserved at least that. I am told that Ghairat is old and frail, that he was angry and wanted to ring the police, but was talked out of it by his daughter and other members of his immediate family, who collectively recoiled at having to accept the consequences of what they had witnessed. Perhaps his faith in a just and merciful Allah was not as strong as he used to claim. Whatever the reason, it’s unacceptable. The body should be exhumed, the murderers arrested and put on trial, as the law requires.

Tariq Ali’s latest book is The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power.

QUETTA: Police in Sui have made no breakthrough in four days after the alleged gang rape of a Baloch widow by the personnel of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and the Defence Security Guards (DSG) as senior officials from the two companies are trying to muzzle the woman by offering her bribes, sources said on Tuesday.

They said the four men accused of raping the woman from Dera Bugti had already been helped in escaping to Karachi. The sources said the PPL and DSG officials were allegedly offering the woman Rs 500,000 and a job to one of her sons if she withdraws the case. Police have also backtracked from the statement they had made before the media on Sunday that the woman had lodged a complaint of gang rape against the four men.

A police officer told Daily Times earlier that a police team had been formed to arrest the culprits soon after an FIR was lodged by the 40-year old widow, who alleged that the accused had stormed into her house, damaged several household items and raped her. But police were denied entry into the PPL Labour Colony by the DSG personnel, the police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Sui Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Akhtar Buzdar said that no rape case had been registered, adding that the media was acting ‘irresponsibly’ to defame a respected tribal woman. He said the woman had come to the police station to complain about employees of the two companies who had stormed into her house and wanted her to vacate the official residence she was occupying.

Police had said on Sunday that they had registered a case of gang rape.

Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, the chief of Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), has demanded President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to intervene in the matter. “It is not the first time that DSG recruits have indulged in immoral activities on our land. We want the government to withdraw the DSG from Dera Bugti,” he told Daily Times.

ISLAMABAD: A handwritten application sent to the Balochistan Police two months ago by the father of one of the innocent women who were buried alive has given a new twist to the ongoing sordid tale of inhuman behaviour.

The application, kept secret so far, gives details of how the helpless souls were quietly butchered without the knowledge of their family members, who now consider them innocent.The new evidence, the first of its kind since the issue has rocked the country, establishes another heartbreaking fact that one of the women, Izzat Khatoon, killed in the name of honour, was a mother of two minors.

Atta Mohammad, the father of the unfortunate mother of two, in his handwritten application to the Allahabad police station SHO, Khankot, reveals details of the persecution of his daughter by some members of his tribe who, under pressure from some political personalities of the area, forced him to withdraw it later.

The Balochistan Police know the powerful political personality who put pressure on the local SHO not to register an FIR, but they are afraid of arresting him only to save their skin and job.The News is in possession of the handwritten application of Atta, which was consigned to the dustbin by the Police officials, who put the applicant under pressure to withdraw the same in the name of respect for the tribal customs.

According to the statement of Atta, he married his daughter, Izzat Khatoon, to one Zahid alias Zahdoo some eight years ago. She bore two children — Aarzi and Mor, a boy. Some 15 days ago, he went to see his daughter and two of his grandchildren at their home. But when he reached there, to his shock, he found his daughter missing. When he inquired from the neighbours about the whereabouts of his daughter, he was told that Zahid was in Quetta for the last several days.

When the clueless father further inquired about his daughter he was told that she had gone to Usta Mohammad for some medical treatment. But she was picked up at gunpoint by three tribesmen, namely Mohammad Qasim, Rehmatullah and Jaabar. These three armed men drove his daughter to some unknown place in a pick-up and killed her after declaring her “Siyah Kari”.

Atta wrote to the SHO that her daughter was innocent and killed in cold blood by the three tribesmen. He then mounted a desperate search for the grave of his daughter but could not locate it despite his best efforts. He said although no one guided him to his daughter’s grave, it was confirmed to him by everyone in the area that his daughter was killed in the name of honour. Atta repeatedly wrote in his application that his daughter, mother of two children, was innocent and she did not commit any moral crime for which she might have been killed and buried at an unknown place without any formal religious rites.

Atta had requested the SHO to register a case against the three accused, who had first kidnapped and then butchered her daughter. But the handwritten statement of Atta was never converted into an FIR, apparently on the pressure of some of the notables of the area, who have now gone underground.

ISLAMABAD: Former adviser to the ex-premier Zafarullah Khan Jamali and now the absconding district Nazim of Naseerabad, Fateh Ali Umrani, broke his two months silence on Saturday and confirmed the killing of two of his women relatives in the name of honour.

He, however, added that he would use his own resources to deal with PPP Minister Sadiq Umrani, who had actually unleashed a campaign against him, as he was not involved in this crime at all.

“Listen, this is against my traditions to use the forum of media to malign or target Sadiq Umrani, as he is doing now against me. I will deal with him in my own style,” said a defiant Fateh Umrani while talking to The News by telephone.

“I am not talking about Sadiq only because my tribesmen would not appreciate, if I start targeting Sadiq and his brother Abdul Sattar in the whole affair, so I would not comment on their conduct,” he said.

He said he had defeated Sadiq Umrani in the polls four times and they had an old political enmity.

Giving his side of the story, Fateh Umrani defended his own role in the whole affair, which had shocked the country.

On Friday, Balochistan IG Asif Nawaz had claimed during the proceedings of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights that Fateh was not traceable since the incident occurred in his area.

Fateh told The News that this was a big lie that he had escaped, as the police never contacted him for seeking an explanation with regard to the killing of the women.

When asked whether he would voluntarily reply to the police questions, Umrani replied that he would not meet the cops, as they were posted there on the directives of Sadiq Umrani, who was now trying to implicate him to settle his own old enmity with him.

“Listen, I don’t want to attack my political opponents who are now propagating against me in the media or using the police against me, as my clan would not appreciate that. I will deal with them in my own way,” Umrani said.

Giving details of the shocking story, Fateh Umrani said actually the two women, who happened to be his relatives, were declared “Kaali” after it was confirmed that they had illicit relations with people of a different tribe.

He said both the women were killed on the spot and it was untrue that a Jirga was held to decide their fate, as was claimed by the police and reported widely in the media.

He categorically denied the holding of any family Jirga and said now, the police officials sitting in Quetta were giving statements after torturing the four accused, who were in their custody.

He confirmed that the police had arrested the right people who had actually killed those women.

When asked if those girls were Kaalis, then where were those men with whom they were caught, he replied that actually, both the men had fled, so only the women were punished.

Fateh confirmed that this was a case of honour killing but said it was untrue that the women were buried alive.

He, however, admitted that this case was not reported to the police as such honour killings were not reported to the police by the tribesmen concerned.

When asked why the father/husbands of those girls had approached the police to get registered a case, Fateh said this was untrue as no one had approached the police to get the case registered.

He said actually, the police were not informed about these killings as since the conversion of this area from B to A, the body of a murdered person had to be taken to Dera Murad Jamali for post-mortem. So, to avoid this long police formality, those women were buried without the incident being brought to the notice of the police, he added.

When asked if he was innocent, then why he disappeared from his area after the tragedy struck, he replied that he was in a city for medical treatment.

He accused the media of blowing the whole issue out of proportion as now, every TV channel was just focusing on this issue as if such kind of honour killing had only taken place in Balochistan.

He questioned why did the same media not reported such honour killings when it took place in the Punjab and Sindh where women were being killed in a similar fashion. But, he regretted, no one was talking about them at all. “Why only we are being targeted and maligned,” he asked.